Important Announcement

9 May, 2020 at 11:36 AM

Through August 2020, Boston University has moved to remote teaching and learning, canceled on-campus activities, and minimized lab research activities. For more information, visit our COVID-19 website.

Current Research

The Gardner lab studies the mechanisms of temporal sequence perception and production, focusing on vocal learning in songbirds.

The song circuit produces stereotyped structure over a range of time-scales from milliseconds to tens of seconds. We ask how complex songs are assembled from elementary neural units. What are the relationships between patterns of neural activity on different time-scales? Can we control the brain’s dynamics through closed-loop stimulation?

To address these questions, we develop minimally invasive electrodes that provide stable neural recording and stimulation in behaving animals, high density deep brain optical interfaces, and wireless miniature fluorescent microscopes. In the process we are also advancing general purpose engineering tools such as high speed direct laser-write 3D printing.